Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco (4 December 1892-20 December 1975) was the Caudillo of Spain from 1 October 1936 to 20 November 1975, succeeding Jose Miaja and preceding Juan Carlos I of Spain. Franco was a veteran general who seized power from the socialist government of Spain with his Falange party at the end of the three-year Spanish Civil War in 1939, and he led a fascist dictatorship in Spain for 36 years. Under Franco, he attempted to enforce Castilian culture on the Catalonia, Basque Country, and Galicia regions of Spain, including the Spanish language; this led to an insurgency by the Basque ETA revolutionary group. Before his death, he ordered the country's return to monarchy under Juan Carlos I, fulfilling his promise to the king.

Biography
Francisco Franco Bahamonde made his reputation fighting rebels in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco in the Rif War up to the 1920s. Courageous and able, he was made commander of the Spanish Legion in 1923 and, in 1926, became the youngest general in the Spanish Army. After the election of a left-wing Popular Front government in February 1936, Franco was relegated to the Canary Islands. Five months later, other generals staged a military uprising, and Franco flew to Morocco to take command of the Army of Africa, which had declared for the Nationalist rebels. Carried to mainland Spain in aircraft supplied by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Franco's African troops marched on Madrid, and raised the siege of Toledo in September. The victory established Franco as military and political head of the Nationalists.

Franco was ruthless in the ensuing civil war. After an assault on Madrid failed in December, he settled for attrition, leaving the Republicans to exhaust themselves in costly offensives while he targeted major centers of resistance, such as Brunete, Teruel, and Ebro. The Condor Legion of the German army and air force and Italian troops contributed greatly to the Nationalist victory of March 1939, but Franco joined neither of those countries during World War II. He ruled Spain as dictator until his death.